fw190 vs bf109

Fw190 Vs Bf109 - We asked a reader of our site how the US Pacific fighter jet handled the Luftwaffe's best planes – the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. To find out more, we asked contributor Edward Ward to investigate. The interesting thing about the F4F, F6F and F4U is that we have a tantalizing hint of their effectiveness against late Luftwaffe fighters as all three were used by the Fleet Air Arm in Europe. Sadly (somehow) the Buccaneer never hit a German fighter in combat, but both Grummans did and the results were positive. Curiously, despite not actually engaging in air-to-air combat over Europe, the Corsair was captured by the Luftwaffe and extensively tested by them. Grumman's results were even more interesting. Incredibly, the first American-built aircraft to have a kill in British service was the Wildcat (then called the Martlet) when two Martlet Iss of 804 sqn Fleet Air Arm shot down a Junkers 88 on Christmas Day 1940. Later, the Martlets operated in the Western Desert in a beaching role. It is difficult to find detailed information about this period. About the best I can work out is that they were operating on "ground attack and escort missions" so you would have thought they would encounter the Luftwaffe but I can only find records of one FIAT G. 50 and four Ju 88s being shot down. More research is needed. There is an Osprey volume "Aircraft of the Aces" on WWII Royal Navy secrets which I think gives an excellent account of the period but unfortunately I don't have it... It all happened before the US entered the war. Here's what Eric Brown had to say about the Martlet/Wildcat and its chances against the Luftwaffe. It should be noted that, despite Eric Brown's fame as a test pilot, Martlett flew fighter escorts against Fw 200 Condors. Martlet II vs Messerschmitt Bf 109F

Although the Wildcat is faster and more maneuverable than the Sea Hurricane, it was still about 60 mph slower than the German fighter. The lower the altitude, the lower the odds in favor of the Me109F. The Wildcat also had a heavier punch. Verdict: As an aggressive fighter, the Wildcat was superior to the Me 109F, but the initiative was always with the German due to superior performance. At lower altitudes the Me109F had the advantage over the Wildcat, but not by much. Martlet IV vs Focke-Wulf 19A-4 and A-4/U8: The only superiority the Wildcat could claim was its ability to outrun a German fighter, but spins don't win fights. In every other division, the Fw 190 was responsible. Even in the fighter-bomber role, the German faced little danger and could always drop its bombs in an emergency to defend itself. Verdict: So extensive was the superiority of the Fw 190A-4 and A-4/U8 that the Wildcat had little or no chance of doing anything more than provoke the German enough to make him abandon his bombs prematurely.

Fw190 Vs Bf109

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List Of Focke Wulf Fw 190 Variants

But when Wildcat VI appeared on the scene (1944), its ratings were less rosy:

"Wildcat VI vs. Messerschmitt 109G-6: The nimble little Wildcat could outperform the latest Me 109, but the performance gap has widened and the German can run the rings around the Wildcat. If the Me 109G-6 was tempted to mix it up in dogfights, the Wildcat was that she has a better chance of succeeding with his grumpy little opponent.”

The formidable Fw 190 had every advantage in this contest, and there was really no way out of the Wildcat's dilemma. Even on the turning circle, it could not avoid the German fighter for the first 120 degrees, and that was more than enough time to activate the Fw 190's powerful armament. Assessment: The Wildcat had little chance of surviving a single hit by the Fw 190 Its only hope was to beat Germans with numbers. Eventually most of the RN Martlets and Wildcats saw service on escort carriers, far from the German fighters. But despite the apparent lack of performance, in March 1945 the Wildcats shot down four Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs over Norway. This was FAA's last win with the Wildcats. As for the Hellcat, only the Royal Navy actually flew it in combat against Luftwaffe fighters. US Hellcats saw service over Europe operating USS Tulagi during Operation Dragoon (the invasion of southern France) in August 1944. During Dragoon, USN Hellcats shot down eight German aircraft but all were bombers or transports. A few years ago, four British Hellcats with a mix of Fw 190s and Bf 109Gs bobbed off the Norwegian coast. One Hellcat was lost but the other three each claimed one German fighter destroyed. Hardly much happens but the Hellcat comes out on top in this industry at least.

If I were to guess what would have happened if the Navy's later two aircraft had been deployed in numbers to Europe, I would think that a similar situation to that which developed with the P-47 and P-51 would have occurred, as the Hellcat was slower than the Corsair (which is much slower than either the Thunderbolt or the Mustang) but it is a very forgiving aircraft and also insanely durable (relatively more F6Fs survived being bombed for example than F4Us did) and so it seems likely that the Hellcat will be used as a fighter-bomber rather than an air-to-air fighter. If they intercepted the Hellcat's exceptional maneuverability (the A6M Zero could follow most maneuvers, and that aircraft was probably the most agile of the war) proved difficult for both German fighters to handle but they could crash out at will.

Revell Messerschmitt Bf109 G 6

The F4U was a slightly different prospect, with much better performance than the Hellcat, any services it could provide against the Luftwaffe would probably be impressive. However, there are caveats - the aforementioned Eric Brown said he preferred the Hellcat in close combat, but during World War II pilots in all countries (except perhaps Japan) desperately tried to avoid dogfights where possible and use diving and climbing. tactics. This would have benefited a Corsair that excelled in rotorcraft. However, it is unlikely that she would have done as well as against the Japanese. The Luftwaffe, although a shadow of its former self in 1945, was still a dangerous foe and did not suffer from the same (generally speaking) technical differences that late-war Japanese fighters did to their major American opponents. It is of course possible that it may not have performed very well, the P-39 Airacobra was generally seen as unsatisfactory in the Pacific theater, but it was very successful against the Germans on the Eastern Front (of American-made fighters only the P-51 would get more air-to-air- kills) But at least we have a glimpse of what might actually have happened when the US tested the Fw 190 against the F4U and F6F and the results here. However, it should be noted that in this case the Focke Wulf was an early model and not indicative of the models the Corsair Corsair and Hellcat would have actually faced in combat had they committed to the European theatre. In short, what would actually have happened is anyone's guess. The American fighters were formidable, but so were the German planes. That may have largely depended on when they were committed. Buccaneer Fist entered combat in August 1942, when the Luftwaffe was still probably the most powerful, best trained, most experienced and best equipped air force in the world. Any fighter thrown at them at the time would have suffered. Had the Luftwaffe in early 1945 been their enemy though it would have been a different story as most veterans were either killed or wounded, there was precious little fuel for operations and the training program collapsed. It's all far from pretty much anyone's guess as to what would really happen. - Edward Ward Dear Aviation Enthusiasts, This site is at risk due to lack of funding, if you enjoyed this article and would like to make a donation you can do so here. She loves airplanes. We love airplanes. Save the Hush-Kit Blog! Our site is completely free and we have no ads.

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